Buying an Inexpensive Holiday Camcorder

Picking up a camera for the holidays? There are a lot of things to think about for shelling out money for even the most inexpensive camcorder.

Christmas Camera

During the upcoming holiday season it is likely that you will either be looking to purchase a digital video camcorder as a gift or as a tool to capture your family’s memories. If you do not have a lot of money to spend you can still get a camera that will do most of the things you need for a reasonable price.

Camera Size

The first thing you need to consider is how mobile and large you want your camera to be. Larger cameras are more versatile, but likewise much more expensive. The smaller machines are also not as proficient in capturing video and audio. If you want to be on the go constantly it is better to get a smaller camcorder, but if you really want to maximize the possibilities of your camera then you shouldn’t be afraid of getting a larger one.

Features

You also want to find the largest numbers of features, especially for computer connectivity and storage. Long gone are the days where the raw tape is the only record of the event you are capturing. Today it is simple and advisable to get the footage on your computer so you can edit it. Try to find a camera that has USB or Firewire connection ports so you can capture it directly to your computer’s hard drive if you want. Also look for cameras that let you record on other storage mediums than just digital video tapes. The ability to attach a portable hard drive, flash drive, or memory stick can be great and can actually save you money by allowing you to purchase fewer DV tapes.

Photos

Make sure you know whether getting still image photographs with this camera are also important. If you choose a camera with a large progressive scan CCD you are going to pay more but also get significantly better images. When it comes to still images it is almost required to have this type of internal hardware to capture anything useful. Check to see what the mega-pixel rating is for the camera and look for an onboard flash. It is always best to just use a still photo digital camera, but it is a nice feature to have available.

Get a Good One

The best thing you can do is try to spend the most amount of money you can afford. Even the cheapest camera is too much money to be useless in a couple months, so find something that will last beyond the New Year.